Fowler injured for Chasetown tie

Chasetown may not get to face Robbie Fowler after all – because the former Liverpool striker is injured.

Cardiff striker Fowler faces another spell on the sidelines after picking up an ankle injury in training and now faces a race against time to be fit for the FA Cup third-round tie against the Scholars next Saturday.

The ex-England international, who had only just returned to action after a hip injury, suffered suspected ligament damage after rolling his ankle following a heavy challenge in training.

The Bluebirds are waiting for scan results to discover the length of his absence.

"It's a big blow for Robbie because he's worked hard to regain his fitness," said Cardiff manager Dave Jones.

"He's been looking good and feeling sharp in training, but these are not the best of times for him."

Fowler was in line to make his first start for Cardiff since early November in last Saturday's Championship match with Sheffield United before his latest setback.

The 32-year-old returned to action in the 1-0 defeat by Bristol City on December 15 after missing six games with a recurring hip injury.

His absence has given an opening to Steve MacLean, who played in their 2-2 Boxing Day draw against Watford.

Chasetown player-coach Andy Turner, who made his latest spying mission to see the Bluebirds today at Preston, is the same age as Fowler and played against him when they were youngsters with Tottenham and Liverpool respectively.

Turner would be sorry to see his old Premier League adversary miss out on the Cup game.

"I think I played against him at White Hart Lane when we were both younger and it would be great to see him playing at Chasetown," he said. "That's what people pay their money to see."

Turner is part of the brains behind Chasetown's astonishing Cup run and has been preparing detailed notes on the opposition since it started in September.

"It's amazing – I was going to watch Chesham v Team Bath in front of 300 people, and I was at Cardiff the other day against Sheffield United sitting with Peter Ridsdale, Neil Kinnock and half-a-dozen scouts. It's unbelievable.

"But we can only prepare our team for who plays against us. Robbie hadn't played for a few weeks anyway because he'd been injured or on the bench.

"But if he is playing, we'd give him our utmost respect. We're doing our homework – we've had them watched a few times and we've got the DVDs.

"I know more about Cardiff now than I did about Port Vale. We're preparing like a Football League club."

Chasetown, who expected to have flu-hit Ben Steane available for today's clash with Barton, host Stourport on Tuesday before the big one.

But Turner warned: "Anyone caught 'saving' themselves will be out of the team for Cardiff".

He said: "Their manager will be telling their players that we won't fancy it because we won't want to get injured.

"But we don't work that way – if they slack or don't play well in the Stourport game, they won't get a shirt for Cardiff."